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Bills aim for police accountability

Change in Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights still sought
June 9, 2023

A bill to change the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights and another that would make discipline decisions public have been filed in the House.

House Bill 205 – the latest version of a LEOBOR bill that was moved out of Senate committee last session but never made the Senate floor – makes a distinction between formal investigations and informal inquiries while requiring that both follow federal and state laws. 

The bill establishes “sustained findings,” defined as a violation of law, rule, policy, regulation or guideline determined by a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning more probably true than not.

Sponsored by Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, D-New Castle, HB 205 would require an investigating agency to prepare a detailed report of its internal investigation and publicly post it in any case involving an officer’s discharge of a firearm; an officer’s use of force that results in serious physical injury; a sustained finding of sexual assault; a sustained finding of dishonesty related to the reporting, investigation or prosecution of a crime, or to the reporting, or investigation of, misconduct by another law-enforcement officer; or a sustained finding of domestic violence.

Under the bill, defense attorneys in a criminal or delinquency case would be provided – at their request – all records relating to sustained findings of misconduct relating to perjury, intentional false statements or false reports, or destruction, falsification or concealment of evidence by an officer who participated in the investigation or prosecution.

The bill would rename LEOBOR to the Police Officers’ Due Process, Accountability and Transparency, and require a detailed narrative to be posted on the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission’s website for at least 25 years.

Sustained findings of a misconduct investigation would be reported even if an officer has resigned or retired.

In a second bill, the Council on Police Training would be renamed to the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission, and clarify that the panel’s disciplinary decisions are public documents. 

Sponsored by Rep. Kendra Johnson, D-Bear, HB 206 would increase the number of governor-appointed public members to the commission from two to three, and require one to be a religious leader from the community who has experience with reentry, and two members must be impacted directly or be immediate family members or caregivers of those impacted by the juvenile or adult criminal justice system.

In addition to suspending or revoking an officer’s certification, the commission would be able to take action in cases where an officer has been decertified in another jurisdiction or has received probation before judgment in connection with a felony or any criminal offense involving theft, fraud, violation of the public trust, or of any drug law.

The commission would have the authority to issue subpoenas for witnesses, documents, physical evidence or other evidence needed in connection with a hearing.

HB 206 also would require that all police departments establish, either individually or in combination with other departments, police accountability boards to provide advice to departments on policy, training and other issues relating to or affecting the department and the communities served by the department. The bill recommends the panel include at least one religious leader from the community and at least two public members who have been impacted directly or are immediate family members or caregivers of those impacted by the juvenile or adult criminal justice system.

HB 206 would require that all of Delaware’s 52 law enforcement agencies be accredited by the Delaware Police Accreditation Commission by July 1, 2028. Officials say the change would make Delaware the first state in the nation to mandate accreditation for all police departments.

Under the bill, the commission would meet four times a year.

Both bills advanced through the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee June 7 and are ready for action on the House floor. 

Workplace misconduct bills filed

Three bills giving workers legal clout against workplace discrimination, harassment and misconduct await action in Senate committees.

Senate Bill 145 would more than double the caps on total damages that Delaware Superior Court can award when workers successfully prove they were the victims of workplace discrimination. Depending on the size of the company, the bill clarifies the courts may order back pay and front pay as part of the equitable relief available under the Delaware Discrimination in Employment Act. 

Senate Bill 146 would help workers meet the 300-day statute of limitations for employment discrimination claims by clarifying that the filing date of a verified charge is the date when it is sent to the Delaware Department of Labor instead of the date that it is received. 

Senate Bill 147 would shield workers who use electronically stored business records as evidence of misconduct from being criminally charged or countersued by their employer for violating Delaware computer crimes laws. 

Under current state law, workers who use email, electronic records and other computer systems to investigate and document violations of state and federal employment law can be charged with a misdemeanor and threatened with a civil suit that far exceeds any compensation they would be awarded if their claim is successful. 

SB 147 would create a narrow exception in Delaware’s computer crimes law to protect workers from criminal and civil liability when they access or disclose electronic records in pursuit of a workplace misconduct claim.  

All three bills are sponsored by Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Greenville, and await action in committee.

SB 145 and SB 146 advanced through the Senate Labor Committee. SB 147 is through the Senate Judiciary Committee. All three bills are ready for action on the Senate floor.

Bills address aging population

A series of bills filed June 1 aims to help Delaware’s growing senior population and improve long-term care for them. 

Senate Bill 150 would strengthen staffing requirements for long-term care facilities that offer dementia care services; SB 151 is a consumer protection bill that strengthens accountability for long-term care facilities that fail to adequately disclose the dementia care services they offer; SB 152 ensures cultural competency and language accessibility standards for long-term care facilities; House Bill 199 increases workforce capacity by allowing the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services to adopt regulations that enable long-term care facilities to contract with temporary staffing agencies; and House Concurrent Resolution 55 directs the Department of Health and Social Services to assess the development of a person-centered acuity model to enable state regulations to better take into account the specific needs of residents, particularly those requiring dementia care services.

“As the aging population in Delaware grows, it's important for lawmakers to look at the challenges patients, their families and the industry as a whole are facing,” said Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, in a prepared statement. “The proposed legislation, as well as continued discussions, will help move the ball forward and ensure that quality long-term and memory care is available to generations of Delawareans to come.”

Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, said she is hopeful the bills will be considered before the end of the session.

“We owe it to our ever-growing aging population to do everything we can to protect one of the most vulnerable sectors in our state,” she said.

Senate Bill 150 advanced through the Senate Health Committee. SB 152 has been assigned to the Senate Health Committee. SB 151 made it through to the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee. HB 199 has been assigned to the House Health Committee. HCR 55 passed the House and Senate June 7. 

 

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